Coming Up Sunday, July 1

This Sunday, we will gather together for worship as July officially arrives (though it certainly feels like it arrived a few days ago).  After a day to recover from this week's Vacation Bible School, where many of us have taken the opportunity to positively impact the faith of young people in our community, we will conclude our sermon series on the faith of Abraham.

Having journeyed through the key stories of Abraham's faith, from the initial covenant with God to the binding of Isaac, including the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and Hagar and Ishmael, we will turn our attention to Abraham's final years, from the death of his beloved wife Sarah until his own death and burial.  In "Honor: The Reward of Abraham's Faith," we will consider how Abraham was honored in his last years, both by the community around him and by his sons Isaac and Ishmael.  In both cases, disagreements were set aside to pay honor to Abraham, largely I think due to his example of faithfulness.  And we will think about how such rewards might come into our lives because of our faithfulness.

Also, Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of the church's affirmation of my calling to be a pastor and my ordination into ministry.  As such, much of the music has been chosen with that in mind, including several of the hymns that were sung at the ordination service.